


A Subcategory of Punk

by CocoaChoux



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Awkwardness, Leather Jackets, M/M, Pastel Eren Yeager, Piercings, Punk Eren Yeager, Punk Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), Teenage Dorks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-07
Updated: 2017-01-07
Packaged: 2018-09-15 10:00:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,421
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9229643
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CocoaChoux/pseuds/CocoaChoux
Summary: Pastels could actually look nice in leather and piercings… Or maybe it was just Eren who was the exception to the fashion rule. The boy was full of surprises as Levi found out.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Happy New Year everyone! :D I'm starting off this year with a fic that is looooong overdue. This fic is for Maddi in return for the lovely art she did for the COMH collab over [here](http://archiveofourown.org/works/4194519/chapters/14739523) (it's the one where Levi's and Eren's noses are touching! ♥). She requested a story with bad boy/punk!Levi and pastel/punk!Eren. I hope I did the prompt justice honeybun! Thank you again for the amazing art! ^^

Levi often wondered if expressing himself through appearances was actually worth it, especially how… loud his clothing choices were.

It wasn’t the color that people had an issue with (black was a staple color for everyday wear after all), nor was it because of the material (though, people would raise their eyebrows when they see him strut down the hallways in his leather pants), definitely not. Maybe it was the combination of the two paired along with more than the standard amount of piercings all over his face and his extreme side shave hairstyle that made him look like a walking ’70s fashion show.

Or maybe it was because of his naturally stoic expression that screamed, “Fight me” to every person who passed by. Who knew? He looked great and anyone who thought otherwise could fuck off for all he cared.

He was used to it, though, the staring anyway. He was comfortable in his attire choices and wore them with confidence. People’s gazes naturally gravitate to him and admittedly, it felt oddly satisfying having that kind of power over someone, intentionally or not.

But all that attention came with a price.

See, because of the way he looked, rumors started circulating around the school about how much of a ‘bad boy’ he was, and that he could beat the shit out anybody. And while the last part may be true (with all the training he received from his uncle, high school brats had nothing on him), those rumors earned him the reputation of being the strongest student in the school.

And with that kind of reputation, came with many challenges. Literally.

Not too long after those rumors started spreading through the student population (he had suspected that Hange was to blame for it), guys came flocking to him left and right, challenging him to a fight. ‘Asserting dominance’ or some shit. Levi didn’t know and didn’t care, but it got annoying real fast. It was funny the first few times back when he was a freshman – the look on the seniors’ faces when he was able to pin them down in a few seconds were delightful – but now being a junior (and undefeated), he didn’t have time to play games anymore.

Contrary to his appearance, he was a bright student, taking AP classes with all those high expectations and stress that came along with it. He was halfway through his third, and critical, year in high school and had scholarships to apply for and test preparations to attend to. Top that with having a part-time job and participating in club activities and sports teams, he had a lot of responsibilities to juggle and not keel over from exhaustion. He literally had no time for bullshit.

Which was exactly why he clocked the guy in the face.

Thinking back on it, he really shouldn’t have retaliated the way he did. It wasn’t a proud moment in his life, but he was stressed out and tired from a long and grueling day of classes and studying. He just wanted to go home and sleep until the next year. Suddenly being ambushed by a stranger once he stepped out of school grounds didn’t help his situation at all.

Especially when the guy was sprawled on the ground, not moving.

Shit. He didn’t kill him with one punch, did he? He didn’t use _that_ much strength.

He bent down and gingerly poked the side of the stranger’s face.

No response.

Levi didn’t even bother to hide his groan of annoyance. Great. Just fucking great. This was exactly why Kenny kept lecturing him about thinking before acting: because of shit like this.

He examined the listless person’s face and didn’t recognize him. From a rival school maybe? He wouldn’t be surprised if his reputation spread to Maria High and St. Rose as well since the schools were only separated by mere fences.

Levi sighed. What should he do? Should he bring him into the nurse’s office? But the nurse was probably long gone by now. Besides, he didn’t want to get reported and go sit in the principal’s office for causing a disturbance despite the incident happening off school grounds; it would hurt his chances of getting into his top college choices if it was on his record. Maybe he should-

“HEY!”

Levi raised his head at the new voice to see another stranger storming towards him, eyes blazing, teeth baring and- wait… was that a pink leather jacket?

Not making the same mistake again, Levi calmly stood up as the other person approached. He put his hands in front of him in a defensive stance and stepped away from the guy who was still on the ground, motionless. “He started it.”

All those years of writing brilliantly-worded essays and assignments to pass his English classes didn’t help him in real life when it came to his preferred method of speaking abruptly. He briefly wondered why he even bothered taking AP English Literature and Composition in the first place if he didn’t actually benefit from it.

Even the new guy seem confused by the childish response that came out of his mouth, stopping a few feet away from him and gave him an odd look. “Uh…?”

Levi took the chance to clear his throat. “He ambushed me and I punched him.” Still need to work on speaking better, but at least he got the main point across.

To his luck, the new guy seemed to accept his answer and visibly deflate from the angry expression he had worn seconds ago. “Why am I not surprised?”

Levi barely caught what he mumbled under his breath and crossed his arms. “You friends with this guy?” He nudged his chin to the sprawled body.

He was puzzled when he received a snort from the new stranger. “Kind of, but not really. We just tolerate each other’s existence but we back each other up from time to time when we’re not fighting ourselves.”

“Right.” That sounded like a weird and complicated relationship but the same could be said with him and Hange (well, _he_ might interpret it that way but they probably didn’t).

The new guy (fuck it, he would call him ‘Pinkie’ until he got a proper name) dropped down and placed his hand over his kind-of-but-not-really-friend’s wrist and then checked his breathing. Whistling lowly, Pinkie said in astonishment, “Wow, you knocked him out cold.”

“I can see that.” Levi checked his phone and sighed in frustration when he realized how late it was getting. “Look, I’m really sorry that I retaliated the way I did to your not-really-friend. Do you mind if we take him to my place until he wakes up? I only live a few blocks away from here.”

He honestly expected Pinkie to decline and call an ambulance or something but received a nod instead.

“Okay. I’ll grab this side and you grab on the other. I can’t wait to see his face when he wakes up from getting the shit beat out of him from a single punch.”

* * *

It was a long walk to his house.

Normally it would take him a few minutes to get back home from school, but lugging a lifeless body (he decided to call him ‘Horsie’ since the guy was pretty lean and sturdy despite his frame) along wasn’t easy. At least Pinkie was good support and was relatively silent the whole way to his house except for the occasional remarks about how dumb Horsie was to attack without thinking. Hah, he heard that one before.

They finally made it to their destination but before Pinkie reached for the door, Levi stopped him. “Hey, can you hold onto your kind-of-friend for a moment?”

Before Pinkie could protest, he pushed Horsie onto him, watching him stumble from the extra weight before regaining his balance. “Hey!”

Levi ignored him and eyed the door with an intense gaze. He outlined the door frame before he zeroed in on the doorknob. Checking underneath and the sides of it, he finally nodded in approval and carefully opened the door.

He heard Pinkie shift behind him and blocked the entrance with his arms. “Wait.”

Pinkie started to get irritated. “What now, man? Are you going to let us in or not?”

“Hold on for a second. My sister’s not home yet so I have to do it.”

Confused, Pinkie asked, “Do what exactly?”

Not entertaining him with a reply, Levi scanned the wooden floorboards and the walls with the same intensity he did for the door. “Guess he was in a rush this morning,” he mumbled.

Looking at his options, he sighed before he took off one his shoes and the scarf around his neck. He looped one end of the fabric with his hand while the other one tied between the shoelaces. Once secured with a knot, he twirled his makeshift lasso and threw the shoe to the furthest side of a framed picture on the wall and tugged on the scarf.

Pinkie yelped in surprise behind him when the ground beneath them rumbled before it stopped just as quickly as it suddenly came. He pulled back his scarf and shoe and stepped through the door. “Okay, it’s safe now.”

“Safe? Safe from what? What exactly did you do?” Pinkie asked, wearily eyeing the place as he slowly stepped inside the house with Horsie’s arm slung around his shoulders. “We’re not going to die, are we?”

“No, not this time at least,” Levi pressed a few buttons on the control panel that was hidden behind the picture frame before positive beeping sounds came from it. Putting the frame back to how it was before, he turned to see the incredulous look on Pinkie’s face. “What?”

“‘Not this time’?”

Levi stepped towards the living room as Pinkie followed. “My uncle’s in charge of security control for the house and likes to set up different traps depending on his mood. It was just simple floor movement triggers today so it was easy to disarm. ”

“Diff- Are you serious? He does this every day?” At Levi’s nod, Pinkie was even more flabbergasted. “You’re shitting me.”

“My uncle does use some… unorthodox methods for securing the place, but we’ve never been robbed so it gets the job done.” Nodding to the couch he said, “Put your not-friend there. I’ll go get the first aid kit and some water in case he wakes up.” Leaving Pinkie to take care of Horsie for now, Levi stalked off to the washroom and grabbed the kit located in the medicine cabinet before heading off to the kitchen.

When he got back to the living room, Horsie was laying on the couch and Pinkie was checking for any additional injuries. “How is he?”

“Nothing’s broken from what I can tell, just a swollen cheek.” Pinkie accepted the ice pack Levi passed to him and pressed it against the swelling as he turned Horsie to his side. “You sure know to hit clean, though. Not even a broken nose from the force of the punch.”

Levi rubbed the back of his neck at the compliment. “Thanks, I guess. I had lots of practice.”

Pinkie chuckled. “I bet.” Seeing that Horsie wasn’t going to move anytime soon, Pinkie left the ice pack and sat down on the floor, back against the couch. “You’re quite the legend at our school.”

“Really? What school do you attend?”

“Maria High. I’m a freshman and same goes for this idiot here,” Pinkie jabbed a thumb behind him, “He heard about how you were undefeated from one of the seniors and wanted to fight you himself. Didn’t expect him to take off immediately, but it didn’t take long for the victor to be settled, huh?”

Levi plopped on a nearby armchair and rested his chin on his hand. “It’s not the first time something like this happened. The fights slowed down in the middle of my sophomore year, but there are the occasional freshmen who don’t know better and want to see for themselves.”

“You a senior?”

“Junior.”

Pinkie visibly grimaced. “Sorry. You must be doing lots of studying and test prep stuff, huh?”

“Yeah. It’s partially the reason why I hit your not-friend there in the first place. I was stressed out and lashed it out on him. Not that what I did was right or anything, but I didn’t expect to be ambushed after school either so it took me by surprise.”

Pinkie offhandedly waved it off. “It’s fine; he’s used to it. And his name’s Jean. ‘Not-friend’ and ‘kind-of-friend’ sounds really weird in a regular conversation.”

“Are you going to give me your name too, or do I still have to refer you as Pinkie in my head?”

“Pinkie? Why that name?”

“Because it’s the color of your jacket.”

Pinkie looked down to what he was wearing and laughed. “You sure you’re not in elementary school? You’re about creative as one.”

Levi huffed in irritation. “Art was never my strongest subject. So are you going to tell me your name or what, Pinkie?”

Pinkie rolled his eyes, but he was still smiling. “I’m Eren. It’s nice to meet you, Captain Levi.”

“Seriously? That’s what they call me?” Though he shouldn’t really care, he expected a title that was at least more fearsome than that.

“It’s that or the Savage of Sina.”

Ah, that was better.

Levi got more comfortable in his chair now that the fiasco was settled (more or less anyway, Jean still needed to wake up). He eyed Eren who was distracted with his phone and took a good look at him.

The pink leather jacket was what caught his attention first, but underneath was a pale yellow shirt with broken heart prints. He raised a brow at that but then he saw the ripped, mint jeans and the pair of white converse that were absentmindedly tapping on the carpet.

Trying not to be as creepy as possible, his gaze traveled up to Eren’s face and caught the multiple piercings along the ears and eyebrows. Hell, the kid even had anti-eyebrow piercings on each side of his face, too.

He had never met anyone like Eren before – someone who was the same yet different from him, in terms of clothing choices anyway. It was though he took the clothes from his wardrobe and did a pastel color swap and it would be just like Eren’s. He appreciated punk aesthetics but Eren, on the other hand, looked like a cutesy badass if he had to categorize it. A special breed of punk that he has never heard of before.

“It’s rude to stare, ya know?”

Levi blinked when he got caught staring but Eren didn’t even look up from his phone as he continued, “You’re wondering about my clothes, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, sorry. Just wondering where you got them from.” He was curious where one would be able to get mint green ripped jeans plus that leather jacket. No department store or mall nearby would carry that kind of style.

“Isn’t it a bit ironic for you to be asking me that?” There was mirth in Eren’s voice as he put his phone away, giving Levi his undivided attention. Eren gestured a hand to him and Levi looked down to his black leather pants that had zippers in various spots and multiple chains hanging off the loops.

Levi offered him a lopsided smirk. “Heh. I guess so, but black is a common color for us punks, no?”

“That’s true. It’s a bit easier to find our kind of style in black or red.” Eren bent his knees and pulled them close to his chest. “Getting piercings isn’t a problem since many accessory stores have stuff I like, but for clothes, I have to order them online and sometimes it can be a hit or miss since most of it comes from overseas.”

“Yeah, that can be a problem,” Levi supplied, “But why the pastel colors though?”

“Why punk in general?” Eren retorted, “I just like the colors, that’s all. They’re soft and nice to look at. And when it’s matched with clothing that’s the complete opposite of what people expect, it’s fun and unique.”

Levi nodded thoughtfully. “I think I understand. It feels good to break out of a stereotypical mold and be whatever the hell you want to be.”

Eren broke out into a grin at that. “I’m glad you get me. My sister says I should be one or the other, but I like mixing the two styles to have them both.”

“Tell me about it. My sister also tells me that I should tone my style down so I don’t look like a try-hard rock band leader.”

The two laughed about how eerily similar they were and the rest conversation flowed easily. Levi learned that Eren was on his school’s rugby team already despite being a freshman. He said it was because last year’s team composed of many seniors who had graduated so the positions were opened to freshmen as well. Levi still commended him for a job well done by making it on the team, earning his spot because of his dedication to the sport. It was endearing to see the pastel punk boy flush from the compliment.

Levi also answered any questions Eren had about preparing for his junior year – “Enjoy the little time you have left, Eren, before everything turns into shit” – and what his plans were after high school. It was actually nice to vent to an almost-stranger about the ridiculous amount of schoolwork he had to do before his last year of high school and telling shitty customer stories that he had to go through from his part-time job.

He didn’t realize how much time had passed until he heard the front door open and there was a pause of silence.

“It’s safe,” Levi called out.

Shortly after, he saw Mikasa poking her head into the living room. She was about to greet her brother but stopped short when she saw they had guests over. “Eren?”

Levi watched as Eren’s eyes flashed with recognition before breaking into a smile. “Hey, Mikasa. I didn’t know you lived here.”

“You two know each other?” Levi asked.

“His sister’s the female rugby captain for Maria High. Our schools always have mock matches and practices together,” Mikasa explained. Stepping closer, she looked at Jean, who was still unconscious on the couch and whipped her head to her brother. “What did you do to him?”

“My friend started it first, don’t worry about it,” Eren said, “We’re just waiting for him to wake up before leaving.”

Mikasa looked doubtful but there wasn’t anything she could do about it. “If you’re sure. Did you start on dinner yet?”

Levi shook his head. “No, I haven’t. Kenny’s working late and Mom’s out with friends so it’ll be just us tonight.”

“Do you want to stay for dinner, Eren?” Mikasa asked.

Eren perked up at the offer, but sheepishly asked, “Would I be imposing?”

Mikasa smiled at his childish behavior. “No, I don’t mind. And I don’t think Levi will mind either. Besides, I’m sure your friend will be hungry when he wakes up and I’m used to making meals for four anyway. I’ll call you guys when it’s ready.”

When Mikasa left the room, Eren turned to Levi. “Man, your sister’s nice. Isabel usually makes me do the cooking at home,” he said with a pout.

“Is Isabel the rugby captain sister of yours?”

“Yeah. She can be intense but she’s a good person. You should meet her sometime.” Digging for his phone, he added, “Which reminds me, I should call home that I’ll be having dinner here. I should also call Jean’s mom, too. She’s very kind but a total worrywart.”

Once Eren made his calls (and reassuring Jean’s mom that her ‘darling baby boy’ was safe), Levi invited Eren to his room to play video games.

Levi let out a bark of laughter when Eren saw his room with a bewildered look on his face. “Not what you were expecting?”

Eren looked around the industrial-level clean room and the off-white walls that weren’t decorated with posters or pictures. “Not exactly, no.” There was a faint smell of lemon and Eren was willing to bet that Levi cleaned up his room before going to school. The only mess he could see was the stuff in the trash bin, and even then, it somehow managed to look cleaner than his own room.

“I guess we’re both full of surprises, then. Go sit on the bed while I get the console set up. Do you have a preference of what game to play?”

“I’m pretty good at shooters if you have any.”

Nodding, Levi set to work booting up the game system and passed Eren a controller as he seated next to him. They played a quick campaign run to see what the other’s skills were like and then quickly moved on to the 1v1 mode.

“First to five wins?” Levi asked.

“Sure. Winner gets the loser’s share of dessert.”

Levi shook his head but agreed to it nonetheless. He wasn’t really big on desserts anyway, so it wouldn’t be much of a loss if he did actually lose.

Eren took the first two games but then Levi quickly tied the score. Their skill level was nearly on par with each other’s, winning and losing every other game, but Levi was lucky to catch Eren while he was reloading his gun to seal his victory in the end.

“Aw, man!” Eren flopped back on the bed and covered his face with the controller. “I was so looking forward to eating your share in front of your face.”

Levi rolled his eyes and poked the side of Eren’s stomach. “Rude. And to think I was going to offer you my share regardless of the outcome, too.”

Eren suddenly sat up and wrapped his arms around Levi. “Did I also forget to mention that you’re the best? Because you are. So strong and undefeated,” he gushed, nuzzling his cheek against Levi’s shoulder, careful not to rub his piercings on the leather.

The junior stiffened at the contact, unused to this amount of affection from anyone (besides Hange… but Hange was Hange and one must learn how to get used to Hange, fast) let alone an acquaintance. An acquaintance that shared a lot of common interests as him. And if he was being completely honest with himself, an acquaintance who was cute in appearance and in personality.

Ah, fuck.

Levi held his breath, hoping that the embrace would only last for a few more seconds, but it didn’t. If anything, Eren made himself more comfortable and engulfed Levi in a cuddly position. What the hell was he doing? He barely knew the kid.

But if honesty hour was still going, he would say that he didn’t mind the position at all. It was a tad uncomfortable (leather and more leather, what did you expect?), but Eren was pleasantly warm behind him and he felt oddly safe in his arms.

After a few minutes just sitting and being held, Levi couldn’t take it anymore and turned his head to look at Eren. “Are you flirting with me?” Tact. That, he had none of.

Eren didn’t seem bothered by the accusation. In fact, he batted his lashes and lowered his eyelids. “I don’t know. Is it working?”

Levi’s heart pressed against his chest and he could feel his body ran hot and cold at the same time. He hoped that he wasn’t shaking as badly as he thought he was.

Taking his chance, he gently pressed their foreheads together. The tips of their noses touching, and he could feel Eren’s breath fan over his lips. “Cute.”

Eren’s mouth curled up into a smile before he closed his eyes, waiting.

Oh, wow. Eren really was cute.

Levi mentally slapped himself out of it and slowly closed the space between them, pressing his lips against Eren’s softly before pulling away.

It was chaste and it was sweet. Not punk at all.

Eren opened his eyes and chuckled at Levi’s shyness. Taking charge, he held Levi’s chin and kissed him more firmly than their first, holding onto Levi’s waist as their mouths moved against each other’s.

Levi was surprised by Eren’s forcefulness, but he welcomed it just the same. Eren was full of many surprises and Levi enjoyed discovering something that he didn’t expect.

“DINNER’S READY!”

They abruptly pulled apart at the loud voice, faces flushed and mouths parted open. First to scramble off the bed, Levi straightened his jacket and offered his hand to Eren. “Let’s continue another time.”

Accepting the offered hand, Eren replied, “You bet your leather-clad ass we are. And I expect a new number in my contacts list by the end of the night.”

“Wow. Not even our first date and you’re already so demanding.”

Eren tugged on one of the chains on Levi’s pants on his way out and Levi smirked behind him as he followed him down.

Mikasa was waiting for them at the bottom of the stairs and to their surprise, Jean finally woke up. Eren slapped his hand over his mouth to prevent laughing at the dopey expression on Jean’s face with the ice pack still miraculously stuck to his cheek. Levi’s eye twitched from the way Jean was blatantly ogling at his sister while she was on her phone.

Noticing their presence, she looked at the two for a moment before smirking. “Hope I wasn’t interrupting something,” she said teasingly.

Levi flipped her off. “You said that dinner’s ready, sis?”

Mikasa rolled her eyes but decided to let the topic drop, for now. She needed something to talk to Isabel about next time they have their meet. “It has for a while. Go wash your hands and help me set up the table.” She turned her heel and walked back to the kitchen.

Jean let out a low whistle once she was out of ear-shot and shot Levi an appreciative look.

“Dude, your sister’s hot.”

Levi curled his hand into a fist, but Eren turned to Levi to help diffuse the situation.

“Want me to punch him out instead?”

Or not. He and Eren were way too much alike.

Grabbing the front of Eren’s shirt, he pulled the boy down and kissed him right under his anti-eyebrow piercing.

Smiling, he said, “You’re a doll. You do that while I go reactivate the traps.”

**Author's Note:**

> RIP Jean


End file.
